Best movie of this year hands down!

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

'Rio' is not an animated movie I would personally seek out to watch, but opportunity fatefully presented itself. Minnesota has since 'Fargo' (1996) been an interesting location to begin a movie, but here it has close to no added value. And pretty soon it's off to Rio de Janeiro anyway.'Rio' is a children's movie, of course. It's colorful, has loads of action based animations, is full of generic characters and has a fairly predictable chain of events (emotional journeys included) and my two nephews were mostly glued to the big screen, though the younger one found 93 minutes a little too much and turned to his toys at times. I can't say much against it, nor for it; it's just not for me, really.5 out of 10.

Rating-7/10Rio is a fun, bright and colourful film about a whole host of animals living in the inner city Rio de Janeiro and the rainforest just on the outskirts of the city. It although a kids film can be enjoyed by all, not the funniest film ever but still manages a sweet story with some great visuals even for an animation film. I felt the film was firmly a Good movie and would tell you to show your kids this film on a Sunday afternoon, but here is why I think even middle aged adults can enjoy this film.The story is straightforward and although it is like that it manages to bring smiles to your face and put me in a food mood for the rest of the film. The plot is fast paced with big falls and typical traits you see in Kids movies but I did feel most of all that it wasn't too cheesy like you see in many kids films and churned out a fun story. The villains are fun and the heroes have fun with them too to make a story that is fun for the whole family as well, and with a sequel it has to be said it is good.The voice cast are good Jesse Eisenberg as the main bird is a scared character who comes out of his shell to be a slight hero as the movie progresses onwards. Anne Hathaway's bird if courageous and hates to be kept in captivity, in comparison to Eisenberg who wants to stay put and has been pampered in America all his life. I liked all the voices even though they were all nearly American even though they are from Brazil but I shall let that pass in sake of the plot.I love the animation style which is far from superior style motion but serves some great colours up and the vibrancy of Rio is brought to life in this animated film, especially the carnival(what film set here doesn't have the carnival). The movement is also good with fast flowing motion that serves the faster parts of the story well as you feel the film will end soon but not in a hurry and a good pace. I enjoyed the script and it serves to let the Birds and humans have an equal say on the matters all the way through.The film I believe was meant to be a comedy and now for kids it may amuse them but for more mature people the comedy is poor and near none existent, I enjoyed the films plot and style but the comedy seemed underused and when it came up it just served to annoy rather than make you laugh. Eisenberg seems to rarely get into the role well but it doesn't hinder the movie, the plot as I said is predictable but the movie does turn up some good moments and nice effects and sequences.I could easily say this is made for 3 year olds but I think lots will enjoy this if they watch it with the intention of not laughing but enjoying a sweet movie and some nice characters too. Those who like animation films generally will like it as it flows nice and I said about the motion being fast, along with the film being not too long either. Finally I must say don't watch this film in a bad mood because I can imagine people would absolutely hate this when they are angry or sad.Overall I give it a 7/10 meaning firmly good, the film serves as fun entertainment for a family but not maybe everyone's cup of tea in truth, give it a miss if you want funny animation. I felt FOX did well to make it and put it out but failed to see if it was really funny, but hey watch it and a give it a try, you may just thoroughly enjoy yourself, but on the same hand you may find it cringe and boring, your call.

Breakdown (out of 10): Overall: 7 Plot: 5 Animation 10 Acting: 8.5Review Summary: The phrase "fish out of water learns to swim" describes Rio. The plot is formulaic; New, unfamiliar situation and people, trials and tribulations, then triumph. The animation is top-notch. Great voice acting, good songs and singing. Perfect Family movie for killing an evening with the kids.Plot: The overall plot is simple to understand. The character interaction is good, but character development throughout the film is weak. This is a major detriment for adult enjoyment of the film, but not bad for young children.Animation: The cinematography in this films is wonderful. The scenery, character designs, and character expressions are top notch. A visual treat!Acting: The voices and singing were great; dialogue was light-hearted, and perfect for each situation. The choice of actors was great, although I would have liked to have seen a greater diversity in the lead roles. (Great leads though)

Giving it a second chance, I really wanted to love this movie.From now on, I'm going to try a different format of reviewing. I'll see how it goes.Plot:It's a forced romance story. Haven't seen this a million times, right? Oh, and a cliché villain with no character is thrown in to give the movie drama.Characters:The main characters are really likable, especially Linda. Blu and Jewel's relationship shows a standard forced love story, but I suppose it works for the plot. Other than that, the rest of the characters are terrible. The villains are completely obvious and stereotypical. They have no unique personality... or anything. It's actually hard for me to describe how they acted. I even forgot their names.Visuals:The visuals are what make the movie. The beautiful scenery of Rio de Janeiro is what gives the movie it's core appeal. That's what my family was talking about when we left the theater. Just like how Disney's The Lion King was a break-through in hand-drawn animation, this film is how all animated CGI films should look. Simple as that.Enjoyment:It was really hard getting around the cringe-inducing dialogue and terrible secondary-characters, but if you can get past it, it is rather enjoyable. The side-characters are pretty much what really killed it for me. If they were different or not in the movie at all, this film would get another star rate from me.Rewatchability:This is one of those animated movies you see on Netflix and just skip past it to see what else is available. It's only good to see if you want to say you saw it. Just go to the real Rio de Janeiro to see the movie in 3-D.